The Boston Red Sox have been praised left and right over the last few months as they have completely turned their 2026 season around.

Boston fired former manager Alex Cora, along with a handful of coaches, back in April when the club was 10-17 on the season. The Red Sox turned the reins over to Chad Tracy and things weren't smooth right away, to say the least. Boston fell to 32-46 on June 25 ahead of a four-game series against the New York Yankees.

Now, Boston is 82-68 on the season and has guaranteed that it will at least finish above .500 for the second straight season. That in itself is special. Boston actually became the first team in MLB history to finish a season above .500, despite losing 46 of their first 78 games, as shared on the NESN broadcast after Sunday's series finale against the Kansas City Royals.

What A Season

Boston's mid-season turnaround has been fascinating to follow throughout the campaign. This is a team that has all of the talent in the world, but for a few months simply couldn't score runs. It didn't help that Boston lost a handful of big-name pieces, including Garrett Crochet, Roman Anthony and Trevor Story. But Boston's offense just wasn't working.

The starting rotation and the bullpen carried the load and at least kept Boston competitive in most games. Then, when the offense finally started to click, the wins piled up. One thing that makes the 2026 season even more special for Boston is how the club was able to scratch and claw its way back into contention. Willson Contreras has been Boston's most consistent hitter all season to this point. Him, plus Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu have been the veterans leading the offense. On top of them, though, it was a handul of young guys who played big roles. Caleb Durbin mightily struggled to kick off the campaign, but he turned it around and has been the heart and soul of the 2026 team.

A handful of guys from the minors got opportunities due to injuries elsewhere and have stepped up, including Mickey Gasper, Nick Sogard, and Anthony Seigler. Andruw Monasterio has been a solid role player all season. These guys got Boston's offense going and helped to keep the team afloat as it awaited the return of Anthony and Story. Plus, Boston went out and got Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles ahead of the trade deadline.

The lineup looks much different right now, than it did when the Red Sox went on their 15-game winning streak earlier in the summer. This is a scrappy bunch that has been powered for most of the season by guys who weren't even on the Opening Day roster. Now, the Red Sox are inching closer and closer to full strength. Boston may not be the top seed in the American League right now, but this is a historic group that's going to be a problem for rivals in the postseason.